Elizabeth man sentenced to life in prison for murder of neighbor, two children

Jennifer Brown/The Star-LedgerAlturik Francis, 29, was sentenced today to three consecutive life terms for killing a woman and her two young children during a botched robbery in 2002.

ELIZABETH -- The man convicted of savagely raping and stabbing his upstairs neighbor, then smothering to death her two small children was sentenced today to three consecutive life terms.

One life sentence for each life taken, a Superior Court judge in Elizabeth said today to Alturik Francis, 29, convicted of the crimes in February.

"Despite the fact that these acts occurred over the same hours, in the same apartment... they all were separate victims," Superior Court Judge Joseph Donohue said. "I believe consecutive sentences are in order."

What authorities said began as a robbery of an Elizabeth apartment in 2002 ended with three bodies piled in a blood-soaked bathtub.

Killed first was 32-year-old Majuly Collins, then 4-year-old Eduardo and 18-month-old Catherine Almanza, both smothered with sofa cushions.

"Mr. Francis, there is a saying in our law that there are no free crimes," Donohue told the defendant today, who stood handcuffed, slouching slightly and bearing no expression.

While multiple life terms "are sometimes considered meaningless gestures," Donohue said imposing separate, consecutive sentences is a means of retribution and "expressing society's outrage at your behavior," he told Francis.

The defendant had originally faced the death penalty, before it was abolished by state legislators in 2007. Because this was filed as a death penalty case and the jury found several aggravating factors, the judge had to impose a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Donohue's only decision was whether the terms would run concurrently or consecutively.

"In my 25 years here, this is the most severe sentence ever handed down," Assistant Prosecutor William Kolano said.

Before dawn, Francis had knocked on Collins' door, asking to use the phone, prosecutors said. Instead, he forced his way in and demanded money. When Collins, a secretary, had only $20 in her purse, he grew enraged. After a two-hour knife attack, authorities said Francis apparently washed his hands, leaving a container of soap sitting on the lid of the toilet.

Today, Francis spoke once on his own behalf, dispassionately telling the judge he "didn't get a fair trial" and his attorneys were "ineffective." Donohue denied a motion for retrial from defense lawyers Carl Herman and David Glazer.

Before the sentencing, Herman spoke briefly, arguing Francis was a person "who has suffered substantially in his own right," alluding to family problems and violence but saying Francis would not allow him to elaborate.

Authorities said Francis had admitted to the triple-murder, saying he wanted to leave no witnesses. But he did leave one -- Susan Vargas, now 27 -- who dialed 911 while bleeding from a stab wound to the neck, First Assistant Prosecutor Albert Cernadas, Jr. said. She testified against Francis, and asked the judge today to impose the maximum sentence.

Jennifer Brown/The Star-LedgerSusan Vargas, who survived despite being stabbed in the neck by Alturik Francis, becomes emotional following his sentencing today.

Vargas, who is originally from the Dominican Republic, stood red-eyed next to Kolano as he read a letter she had penned. She nervously avoided Francis' gaze.

"I live with a constant reminder of what he did to me," she wrote, describing the long, jagged scar that runs the length of her right jaw, where she said Francis stabbed her with a kitchen knife. She still feels a painful sting every time she swallows, she told the court.

Now the mother of a five-month-old son, Vargas said she is haunted by images of Collins, her cousin -- who was raped repeatedly by Francis while Vargas was forced to watch from a closet -- and the children whose faces he covered with cushions.

"He had no heart or human feeling," Vargas wrote in her letter. "I still feel the knife in my neck... the blood coming out of my neck...I hear Majuly's voice pleading with him, I hear her voice, her words trying to protect me. I hear her voice pleading with him not to hurt her babies....I live with those memories."

Collins' uncle, Nelson Guzman, 61, had attended the trial regularly and said Francis "didn't show any compassion" at Vargas' words. But Guzman added the family is thankful "he had to pay for what he did."

After the sentencing, Vargas said she believes Francis deserves the death penalty, which was abolished while his case was tied up for six years in litigation. But Vargas said she is happy he will stay off the streets.

"He's not going to do more harm to other people," she said quietly in Spanish.

The judge today agreed, telling Francis his sentence "is intended to make sure you are isolated at all times from society."